People stand outside their offices after a severe earthquake is felt in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake in northern Afghanistan rocked cities across South Asia. Strong tremors were felt in Kabul, New Delhi and Islamabad on Monday. In the Pakistani capital, walls swayed back and forth and people poured out of office buildings in a panic, reciting verses from the Quran. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

“More [deaths] are expected,” the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Pervez Khattak told state TV about three hours after the quake hit.

Pakistan suffered the worst casualties, with more than 200 dead and another 1,000 or so reported injured, officials said.

In Afghanistan, 73 people were reported dead, and more than 300 injured.

Map showing the earthquake’s epicenter.Google Maps

The toll included around 12 girls who died while trying to flee their school in Afghanistan, an official told NBC News — with some of them crushed in a stampede.

Landslides were reported and some of the affected regions could not immediately be contacted, authorities said. The quake came just days after rain fell in many parts of Afghanistan, potentially making mud-built dwellings vulnerable.

The temblor struck at around 2:10 p.m. (5:10 a.m. ET) and occurred in remote area of the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan around 28 miles south-southwest of Jarm, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency later revised its magnitude from a preliminary 7.7 to 7.5.

The earthquake was widely felt in neighboring Pakistan, where the government declared an emergency in some areas. The country’s army put all non-combat units on standby.

“I just felt it go up and down as if I was on a New York subway on a really rough ride,” said NBC News producer Wajahat S. Khan, who was in a hotel in Lahore at the time of the quake. “Everything was moving up and down. My lunch on the table was literally just popping up and down.”

.@WajSKhan was in a hotel room in Lahore when the quake struck. Says chandeliers were swinging and people screamed and ran outside.

Khan added: “The scenes downstairs were really, really chaotic. The panic continued and lasted for a good four or five minutes after the quake.”

NBC News producer Mushtaq Yusufzai was eating with his family in Peshawar when the earthquake struck.

“There was no was way to go downstairs so we immediately climbed to the rooftop,” he said. “It seemed the entire building was going to collapse. Women and children were crying and traffic was stopped on roads.”

At least 55 people were injured in Peshawar, officials said. Some were listed in critical condition.

The country’s Supreme Court in Islamabad was in a televised session and judges, lawyers and complainants were shown running out of the room.

Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah: today's earthquake was the strongest one felt in the recent decades. 1

Some 1,438 homes were destroyed or damaged throughout Badakhshan, where the quake’s epicenter was located, the province’s governor said Shah Waliullah Adeeb. That figure included at least 70 in the village of Charmaghz Daram, according to police chief Gen. Gulam Sakhi.

“This was the most powerful earthquake we have witnessed,” he told NBC News. “It happened while there was heavy rain and hailstorm in parts of the province … but many homes have been destroyed and the death toll could be higher as we are trying to reach to the remote areas.”

The quake was also felt in Indian cities including Srinagar, which is located almost 300 miles away.

Heard about strong earthquake in Afghanistan-Pakistan region whose tremors have been felt in parts of India. I pray for everyone's safety.